Casca
"Elaine", "Branded Girl" | traits = 24 years old, , , black hair, brown eyes; amnesic and mentally regressed; bearer of the Brand of Sacrifice | allies = * Guts' traveling party * Band of the Falcon (formerly) * Luca | highlights = * Crucial in the Band of the Falcon's storied successes during the Hundred Year War, as a forefront unit commander * Acted as the band's leader after Griffith's capture, thus preventing the complete annihilation of the Falcons * Survived the Eclipse }} }} Casca is a former unit commander of the Band of the Falcon and the closest companion of Guts. Originally a callow peasant girl living in a remote mountain village, she develops into a well-attuned warrior upon joining the Band of the Falcon and aids greatly in the group's storied successes during the Hundred Year War. Following Guts' departure and Griffith's subsequent imprisonment, she is forced to assume position as the band's leader, succeeding in preventing the complete annihilation of the Falcons and rescuing Griffith from the Tower of Rebirth. Crippled from his horrifying year-long torture and demoralized by his fall from grace, Griffith ultimately invokes the Eclipse, in which he is reborn as the fifth God Hand angel Femto and rapes Casca to spite Guts. Having physically survived the ordeal, she regresses into an infantile and largely mute amnesiac. Guts and his newly formed traveling party are currently preoccupied with the restoration of her fragmented mind in Elfhelm. Personality Prior to the events of the fifth Eclipse, Casca proves a determined and capable leader within the Band of the Falcon who merits the respect of her comrades in arms. So great is her leadership that she is able to rally the Falcons behind her in their moment of utmost peril and prevent the complete annihilation of the fugitive band for a year following Griffith's imprisonment. She fosters morale among the rank and file of the band, who, in turn, affectionately call her "Big Sis." Even in the midst of the Eclipse, Casca does not allow the Falcons to panic, commanding them to assume formation and contribute what they can. Casca's appearance and austere attitude can be seen as unfeminine, prompting Judeau's initial observation that Casca "gave up on being a woman in order to become a mercenary." In actuality, Casca's womanhood forms an integral part of her identity; she wears men's clothing for its practicality in battle, rather than because of any inherent desire to do so on her part. Occasionally, her status as a woman is the source of her perturbation, though she masks such doubts with an exterior of sternness, lashing out with physical violence in moments of vulnerability. Beneath this guarded exterior, however, Casca yearns for acceptance as both a warrior and as a woman, which she originally desires from Griffith. Her loyalty and devotion to Griffith seed within her a yearning for strength, wanting to serve as his able sword in the pursuit of his dream. Because of this, she initially harbors resentment for Guts, jealous of the swordsman's superseding importance to her idolized leader. Eventually, Casca comes to acknowledge the unrequited nature of her admiration for Griffith, while also developing equal affection for Guts, growing beyond her dependence on Griffith's dream. Notably, when Griffith resolves to duel Guts in an attempt to prevent him from leaving the band, Casca interjects, questioning her leader's challenge – an action Judeau notes she would have never taken previously, as she considered Griffith's will akin to gospel. She later begins falling in love with the swordsman after his acknowledgment of her as both a capable warrior and as a woman, cultivating a relationship based on mutual honesty rather than one-sided reverence. Femto's rape of Casca during the Eclipse inflicts an insurmountable trauma upon her, however, and causes her to regress to an infantile state, ingraining within her a fear of men and a visceral revulsion of male genitalia. Her puerilism manifests as a fascination with animals and shiny objects, including Puck. She is capable of a primitive form of empathy, dousing herself with water when a previously soaked Farnese begins to cry, but is unable to understand the reason for the latter's feelings beyond the immediate situation. Ultimately, her behavior is typical of that of a small child, only excluding her maternal instincts towards her demon child and the Moonlight Boy. History Early Years As a young lowborn girl, hardships such as starvation and potential abduction are a normal fact of peasant life for Casca in her mountain village. At twelve years of age, her parents send her off to work as a castle maid for a seemingly courteous nobleman. However, en route to the castle, the noble reveals his lustful intentions, chasing Casca from their carriage and pinning her down in an attempt of rape. Just as she begins submitting to her attacker, Griffith appears on horseback and slices off the noble's ear, expressing his disdain for the man's sense of entitlement and superiority. Rather than eliminate the pedophilic noble himself, Griffith extends his sword to Casca, telling her to wield it if she has something to protect; as the nobleman lunges for her neck, Casca takes up the sword and places it inline with her attacker's chest, piercing through and killing her attacker. Filled with unease from her first kill, she is calmed by Griffith and entranced by the marvelous nature of her savior from then on. With her attacker dead and chances of being reintegrated into her village low, she decides to join Griffith's Band of the Falcon. Golden Age Arc Meeting Guts Years later, having become the Falcons' second most formidable warrior and a forefront unit commander within the band, Casca confronts Guts under Griffith's orders when the swordsman defends himself against an ambush party led by Corkus. She and Guts battle until Guts knocks her off her horse, thereafter realizing he is fighting a woman. When Guts overpowers and prepares to end Casca, Griffith intervenes, incapacitates the swordsman, and then has him taken back to the band's encampment. He orders Casca to sleep bare with an exsanguinated Guts for two days to provide the swordsman with warmth. Though Casca prevents vengeful Falcons from killing Guts after he recovers, she expresses no favor for the swordsman; on the contrary, she becomes envious of him due Griffith's strong desire for and eventual enlistment of the swordsman into the Band of the Falcon. Glory Years In three years time, the Falcons, having earned the trust and approval of the King of Midland, are enlisted by Midland in its century-spanning war against Chuder. During a battle between the Falcons and Chuder's Blue Whale Knights, Casca silently suffers from menstruation in her bout with Adon Coborlwitz, eventually fainting and falling off a cliff. Though Guts manages to save her, he is shot off his horse by Adon and the two are sent freefalling into the river below. Guts manages to drag Casca out of the chill water and into a nearby cave. Realizing a fire would merely alert the Blue Whale Knights to their position, Guts takes Casca's soaked clothes off and instead rewarms her with his own body heat. When the rain finally ceases, Casca wakes and immediately attacks Guts, flustered by her womanly shortcomings as a soldier. Subduing and tiring her out, Guts asks why she became a mercenary to begin with, to which she explains the reason for her idolization of and devotion to Griffith as his sworn sword, as well as the jarring effect her leader's desire for Guts had on her. Their conversation is interrupted by the movements of Chuder troops near their location; realizing enemy forces would soon home in on the cave, they decide to depart after sunset. After the two are found by Adon and his soldiers, Guts decides to buy time for Casca to return to the Falcons, and in a remarkable act of survival manages to defeat all mercenaries in the hundred-strong Chuder legion. After he is found by the band and tended to at their encampment, Casca learns of his growing detachment from the Falcons' collective "campfire of dreams" and intention to eventually leave the band, to her dismay. Later, during the Battle for Doldrey, Casca succeeds in defeating Adon in a perilous rematch and leads the successful recapture of the fortress from within. For their successful recapture of Doldrey, the Band of the Falcon is formally enlisted as Midland's White Phoenix Knights, and its unit commanders are knighted and raised to the peerage. Having developed affection for Guts, Casca is left conflicted when he soon after defects from the Falcons, her heart rended as she witnesses a disconcerted Griffith kneel in defeat and Guts decisively leave. Guts' departure unexpectedly propels Griffith to impulsively bed Princess Charlotte, resulting in the White Falcon's imprisonment for crimes against the royal family and labeling of the Falcons as outlaws. With the abrupt departure of her leader, Casca is forced to take leadership of the band when they are attacked by Midland's army and driven away. Fugitive For a year, Casca leads the Falcons through their most tumultuous time, often times overcome with exhaustion and despondence due to her role. When Guts returns and aids in fending off a raid led by Silat, Casca takes him away from the rest of the Falcons to vent her ire for his momentous defection a year prior. After a brief sword-fight with him, she attempts to take her own life, deciding to leave the responsibility of leading the Falcons to him. After Guts in turn saves and comforts her, however, the two reconcile and proceed to make love, finally acknowledging their feelings for one another and cementing their new relationship. Rescuing Griffith Soon after, Casca forms the Griffith Rescue Squad and leads the infiltration of Wyndham to rescue Griffith. With the help of Princess Charlotte, the group is able to reach Griffith's cell in the lowest level of the Tower of Rebirth. However, upon reuniting with the White Falcon, they discover the horrifying injuries inflicted on him during his year-long torture. Fighting their way through a wave of alerted Wyndham soldiers, the Griffith Rescue Squad is able to reenter the sewers, thwart a Bakiraka ambush, and escape Wyndham to a farm outside the city. En route to the Midland border, the group realizes they are being pursued by the dreaded Black Dog Knights. Though their laid traps fail to deter the Dogs, the squad eventually rejoins another Band of the Falcon unit and combats their chasers. The Dogs' apostle leader, Wyald, eventually transforms into his true form in his bout with Guts, attempts to rape Casca, and grabs a defenseless Griffith in retaliation when Guts decisively overpowers him, disclosing the full extent of the White Falcon's grievous injuries to the band. Soon after, Nosferatu Zodd abruptly arrives and shockingly tears his fellow apostle in two, afterwards imparting a message to Griffith – foreshadowing the return of the Falcon's lost beherit – before flying off. Eclipse At the Midland border region, the Falcons come to terms with the gravity of Griffith's injuries and discuss their futures. While Casca replaces his bandages, Griffith uses his feeble strength to force himself on her; though initially opposed to his advance, she is overcome with pity for his weakened, fragile state and gingerly hugs him as he relents. Leaving Griffith's carriage, Casca pleads with Guts to again leave the Falcons, if he is truly Griffith's friend and equal. Triggered by the possibility of Guts leaving yet again, Griffith, having mustered enough strength to commandeer his resting carriage, flees from the area, with Guts and the Falcons in pursuit of him. When Griffith wrecks the carriage and lands in a lake, Guts and the others rush to his location, as a solar eclipse begins and ominous figures approach in the distance. Soon as Guts reaches him, however, the Falcons are all whisked away into an alternate dimension by Griffith's returned Crimson Beherit. Numerous demons are present to greet the Falcons, welcoming them to the nocturnal feast coined "the Eclipse". Four profound entities emerge from within the dimension afterwards, introducing themselves as the God Hand and revealing the purpose of the Eclipse: for Griffith to offer his comrades as sacrifices in order to join their divine ranks, as has been preordained by fate. Proving to indeed be an inevitability, Griffith, having weighed his options as an invalid and reaffirmed his dream and ambition, offers his former comrades as sacrifices, therefore triggering the branding and unilateral slaughter of the Falcons. A mass-scale massacre of the Falcons is initiated, with most of them being slaughtered by an inundation of materialized apostles. Judeau comes to Casca's rescue on horseback as Pippin mounts a last stand against one of the demons, demanding that she survive as the band's leader. As the two ride and ceaselessly combat apostles, Judeau continues to place himself in harm's way to protect Casca, sustaining mortal injuries after shielding her from a whip-like apostle's lashing. Heavily injured, Judeau tells Casca to carry on alone, but is reprimanded by the commander and told to stand on his feet. In spite of her urging, Judeau slowly goes numb before eventually succumbing to his injuries. With his death, Casca is surrounded and stripped bare by an onslaught of lustful apostles. After all but Guts and Casca are dead, Griffith, reborn as the fifth God Hand member Femto, immediately descends down towards an ensnared Guts and motions a demon to bring Casca to him. Femto then proceeds to rape Casca in front of Guts, intent on forcing the latter to watch as his lover begs him to look away. Soon after Femto finishes with Casca, the Skull Knight encroaches on the Eclipse and is able to escape the temporal junction unscathed with Casca and Guts in tow. After she wakes in the blacksmith Godo's cave, it is revealed that, due to the trauma she suffered from the Eclipse, Casca has repressed all of her prior memories and capabilities, now but an infantile shell of her former self. Four days later, she gives birth to her and Guts' demon child – the infant having been tainted by Femto's violation of Casca – before it fades away into the Astral World at sunrise. Conviction Arc Two years after Guts leaves her in Godo's cave, Casca wanders off when Erica lets her out and ends up in the company of a harlot named Luca, whose group is among the refugees traveling to Albion. Along the way, the refugees are ambushed by would-be assassins targeting the Holy See inquisitor Mozgus. Casca nearly gets herself arrested when she interacts with a pleading assassin, though Luca dispels any suspicions of her being associated with the attackers. Intent on keeping her safe from men who would take advantage of her defenseless state, Luca takes in Casca and issues her the false identity of "Elaine", wrapping her face in bandages to mask her as a syphilis-infected prostitute. Not long after reaching Albion, her presence as one branded begins to rile restless spirits of the dead; her cover is blown when a cult dedicated to the Goddess of the Flame, believing her to be a witch, conducts a ritual to marry her to their leader. Pandemonium breaks out when the pagans are possessed by the vengeful spirits of their many sacrifices and the Great Goat is turned into a pseudo-apostle. Luckily, having been propelled to find her after receiving a vision of her burning, Guts arrives to save Casca from the Great Goat's clutches. Despite Guts entrusting her safety to Isidro, Casca ends up being captured by the Holy Iron Chain Knights and taken to the Tower of Conviction. In the tower, Mozgus, having observed her Brand of Sacrifice and denounced her as a witch, places Casca inside an iron maiden in an effort to bleed her to death. However, her branded presence begins to rattle the spirits of the tortured dead and triggers a tidal wave of manifested spirits, which proceeds to consume the living. Casca survives under the protection of her demon infant, though the child expends its life force in doing so. Believing her death will end the torrent of manifested malice in Albion, Mozgus conducts a witch trial in which he sentences her to burning at the stake; however, Isidro is able to make amends for his earlier blunder by freeing her from the stake. After Casca's rescue, the Incarnation Ceremony continues to run its course, bringing about Femto's reincarnation into corporeal form as Griffith at sunrise. Following the ensuing influx of Kushan soldiers, Guts mounts a horse with Casca in tow and rides for Godo's hut. Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc Returning to Godo's home, Guts encounters Griffith atop the Hill of Swords. When the swordsman attacks Griffith and is forced to do battle with Griffith's new protector Nosferatu Zodd, Casca enters the fray just as Zodd reemerges from Godo's destroyed mine, nearly crushed by the resulting debris. As if by instinct, Griffith unwittingly protects her; given pause by his involuntary act, he orders Zodd to cease his battle with Guts and departs. With the destruction of Godo's mine, and therefore a lack of secure shelter for Casca, Guts sets off in the winter with a new destination: Puck's homeland of Elfhelm, where Puck states Casca will be safe to stay. On their winter journey, Casca initially sticks close to Guts, having acknowledged his protective nature. However, when Guts momentarily falls victim to spiritual possession and nearly strangles her to death, she becomes perpetually fearful of him and begins wandering away from his proximity. Their relationship is only further strained when the swordsman submits to his inner darkness and sexually assaults her. Only when Farnese, Serpico, and Isidro find and accompany them in their travels does Casca begin to open up again, particular to Farnese, who acts as her caretaker thereafter. The group sets their destination for the port city of Vritannis, in order to acquire a ship. Casca and Farnese are later abducted by trolls and taken to the border realm of Qliphoth when the group protects Enoch Village from a troll invasion as a favor for the witch Flora, ultimately rescued by the rest of the traveling party. On the beach before entering the port city, the Skull Knight reunites with Guts, telling him of the elfin sovereign Hanafubuku, who can potentially mend Casca's broken mind. Soon after, Casca has her first known encounter with a mysterious "Moonlight Boy", who displays a particular interest in her and Guts. She remains in the background for much of the ensuing chaos from the Kushan attack on Vritannis. The group eventually manages to board Roderick's ship, the Seahorse, and sets sail on the western sea. Fantasia Arc Another encounter with the Moonlight Boy is had on a solitary island the Sea God resides under. After Guts succeeds in defeating the deity, a pod of grateful merrows escorts the Seahorse to the island of Skellig. En route to the island, speculation is made regarding the nature of the Moonlight Boy when he again disappears. Upon reaching Skellig and arriving in Elfhelm, the party rests for a night and is then escorted by archmage Gedfring and the attendant Danann to Hanafabuku's spirit tree palace, where Danann transforms into and reveals herself be the sovereign of Elfhelm. After sentencing Puck and Manifico to a day of community service when the two's plot to overthrow her fails, Danann asks Schierke and Farnese to accompany her and Casca in the "Passage of Dreams". Once in a mushroom filled chamber, Danann explains to Farnese and Schierke that the Passage of Dreams ritual requires them to astral project themselves into Casca's mind and find a resolution for the incident responsible for their companion's mental state. The two initially find Casca's dreamscape to be a series of childish scribbles, representative of her current fragmented psyche. Guided by Danann's petals, they discover a fractured doll representing Casca's current state, and trek onward collecting memory fragments to gradually repair the broken effigy. After climbing up an miasmic mountain hovered by a black sun, the two sorceresses arrive at a thorned cocoon containing Casca's last memory fragment. Abilities In the days of the original Band of the Falcon, Casca is respected by her comrades as both a leader and formidable warrior, said to only be surpassed by Griffith in sheer skill prior to Guts' enlistment. Her expert swordsmanship enables her to engage in battle with male opponents much larger in stature than herself, and surmount them regardless. Though her opponents' strength often proves to be a primary obstacle in her fights, Casca's sharp reflexes and superior agility allow her to outmaneuver and ultimately defeat such foes. Though mostly defenseless in her puerilistic state, she has displayed spurts of her former self in precarious situations; such such instances include manifesting her inborn agility to deftly traverse down the side of a cliff, and rediscovering her swordsmanship to swiftly dispatch a group of would-be bandit rapists. Notes * Casca is the only known female member of the original Band of the Falcon. * Casca was conceptualized as Kentaro Miura's ideal woman – a "brown female warrior" who is "strong, but still feminine," qualities that Miura found attractive at the time. * Casca lacks confidence in dancing, having only ever danced at her village festival as a child. References Appendices de:Kiasca cs:Casca Category:Humans Category:Female Characters Category:Nobles Category:Mercenaries Category:Swordsmen Category:Band of the Falcon Category:Guts' Traveling Party Category:Branded Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Black Swordsman Characters Category:Golden Age Characters Category:Conviction Characters Category:Falcon of the Millennium Empire Characters Category:Fantasia Characters